1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sporting equipment. More particularly, this invention relates to the improved attachment of a lacrosse stick head to a tubular lacrosse stick shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an attempt to make lacrosse sticks stronger and lighter, manufacturers make the shaft out of hollow, thin walled, tubing. The tubing is made from a variety of alloys, but commonly from alloys of aluminum or titanium. The cross-sectional shape of the shaft is typically eight sided. The head typically is made of a polymer frame with a flexible mesh material tied to the frame with strings. The lacrosse stick is completed by fastening the head to the shaft.
Current methods of attaching the head to the shaft require a sheet metal screw to attach the head to the shaft with the screw gripping the shaft sidewall. Since the shaft sidewall is thin, the attachment is not strong enough in competitive play. The screw, and therefore the head, becomes loose and repair of the attachment is necessary. Any repair that can be done quickly is very unreliable.
Kohler and Sherman (U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,259) propose a head with a plug protruding from it to accept the screw for attachment. The head proposed by Kohler et al. solves the attachment problem, but it is not versatile. The head may not work well on a variety of shafts, and may not be available in the head design that some players prefer. Enos and Huling (U.S. Pat. No. 6,949,037) propose a quick release fastener for securing a lacrosse head to the shaft. Their method allows for quick repair, but the shaft and head need to be modified for their particular attachment method. This reduces the flexibility of using a variety of heads on a variety of shafts, and sacrifices attachment strength.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a means of attaching a lacrosse stick head to a tubular lacrosse stick in a low cost manner.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means of attaching a lacrosse stick head to a tubular lacrosse stick that can be used with a variety of head shaft combinations.
Further and additional objects will appear from the description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.